Marion County RECORD

Picture, if you will, a young family about to embark on a summer vacation; an excited father facing his eager children, about to reveal their destination.
“Kids, we’re not going to Disney World this year,” he says. “We’re going to visit the hometown of Kansas’ 17th governor!”

Harriet Bina needed a litter. Not a litter of puppies or kittens, but a litter of the carrying kind, one that could tote a 40-pound statue of Father Emil Kapaun in a special Mass on Saturday.
The Mass won’t be in Pilsen but at a Catholic camp near Williamsburg, where two men with strong interest in Father Kapaun have arranged a unique Mass in his honor, complete with a vintage Korean War vehicle.

Eisenhower Dr. will be closed effective today. Truck drivers looking to eschew what KDOT lists as a less-than-15-minute detour are bringing more traffic onto the road than it’s equipped to handle, roads superintendent Randy Crawford said.
The portion of the road that will be closed is between Kellison Dr. and US-56, which is where the city road turns into a county road.

A motorcycle without a rider has been cruising in and around Marion the past two weeks, but it does have a driver inside its bright red sidecar.
“A few people have looked back and had that look on them of, ‘What was that? Where’s the driver?’” Torey Hett said.

A state trooper pulled off US-50 near Peabody to assist a stranded motorist July 17, but instead took the driver, Patrick McHenry, 22, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, to county jail on allegations of kidnapping, aggravated endangerment of a child, and other charges.
After the trooper requested a routine license plate check, a dispatcher responded that Tahlequah police had reported the 2010 Ford as stolen, public information officer Chad Crittenden said.

County road workers were assigned to 10-hour workdays starting Tuesday as the first step in addressing concerns aired at a public meeting last week.
Road and bridge superintendent Randy Crawford verified that a temporary work schedule would start immediately after county commissioners suggested it Monday.

Former beautician Jeanetta E. Farr, 79, died Saturday at Asbury Park in Newton.
Services were to be this morning at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Peabody, with inurnment at Prairie Lawn Cemetery, Peabody.

Leona Friesen, 86, died Tuesday at Salem Home, Hillsboro.
A celebration of life service will be 11 a.m. Saturday at Parkview Mennonite Brethren Church.

Charlene Ann Janzen, 70, died July 26, 2015 at Manor Care of Wichita.
Services were to be this morning at Hillsboro United Methodist Church.

Douglas J. Patry, 66, died July 21 at his summer home in Winter Park, Colorado. He lived in Wichita.
Services were to be today at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, Wichita. Inurnment was to be at Marion Cemetery.

Joan Stroda, 84, who had relatives in Marion County, died Monday at Wesley Medical Center, Wichita.
Rosary will be 7 p.m. Friday at St. John’s the Evangelist Catholic Church, Herrington Relatives will receive friends afterward in the parish hall.

The classroom of tomorrow may not be a classroom.
As technology continues to revolutionize communication, the teacher-student dialogue is affected as much as any other.

Teachers and students aren’t the only ones responsible for education, teachers say.
“Parents need to reinforce to students how important education is,” Marion High School history teacher Grant Thierolf said. “If parents place a high value on education and schools and see this as a way to have their kids better themselves, then kids start to understand that.”

At a time when six out of 10 mothers with children under 3 years old are working or looking for work, childcare is more necessary than optional.
Some turn to relatives for help, but finding childcare can be difficult for those without that option.

Just because you’ve spent 18 years preparing for something doesn’t mean you want to do it.
Parents of recent high school graduates can relate. As members of the class of 2015 prepare to take the next step in their lives, their parents prepare for the bittersweet goodbye that accompanies it.

Butler Community College has launched a partnership with the Transportation Security Administration agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Butler will create customized curriculum for training TSA employees, who provide security across airports across the country.

Donations of school supplies are being accepted through Aug. 9.
Supplies include crayons, colored pencils, washable markers, glue sticks, scissors, notebook paper, and backpacks. Prepared packs are available from Lanning Pharmacy.

We’d love to take the high road and proudly proclaim that Marion County is plowing full speed ahead toward a viable long-term solution to its road problems.
While it’s true that old policies, charitably characterized as robbing Peter (gravel and dirt roads) to pay Paul (paved roads), seem to have been abandoned, what appears to have replaced them is a policy of robbing Paul to pay Peter.

Braden Fahey and Justin Terrel of Marion received scholarships for the 2015-16 school year from the Butler Community College theater department.

Kyle Palic isn’t used to being just one of the guys, but the outstanding three-sport athlete blended in among the best in the state Saturday at the Shrine Bowl football game in Hays.
“You’re seeing the best kids in the state, and it was kind of cool to get to hang out and meet them all and see what they’re like,” Palic said.

SENIOR CENTER:

MEMORIES:

Plans already are taking shape for the 43rd annual Labor Day weekend in Burdick.
Activities Sept. 6 will include morning worship led by pastor Bill Peterson at 9:30 a.m. and a concert by Nashville recording artist Rusty Rierson at 7:30 p.m.

Over 100 exhibitors from seven states will present old-fashioned farm equipment at Country Threshing Days this weekend in Goessel.
“It’s a large show with a small rural town atmosphere,” said Russ Hamm, president of Wheat Heritage Engine and Threshing Company, Inc. “Most of the machinery dates between the 1910s and the 1950s.”

An additional 55,000 acres of agriculture land in Kansas is eligible for federal money to pay for wildlife habitat restoration.
Producers can offer land for the Safe Acres For Wildlife Enhancement and other conservation reserve programs.

Farmers in Marion County who suffered crop or livestock losses due to severe weather and flooding from May 4 to June 16 may now apply for Farm Service Agency emergency loans.
Applicants must have family-sized farms or ranches that suffered qualifying physical or production losses, and must be unable to get credit elsewhere.